OJ's Game Review - Minecraft

An open-world survival game stylized entirely around blocks and pixels... but you already knew that.

So yes, Minecraft. There wasn't much to see after Interstellar and a few weeks ago I downloaded Minecraft for THE FIRST TIME EVER. Yes I know it's been out for like five years but now I've gotten round to it. I'd heard so much about Minecraft on the Internet, I knew what it looked like and there were a million 'let's plays' on YouTube but for some reason I never went to it. Now though, I cant get enough; Minecraft is addictive. 

     Basic premise is that you have to survive in this huge (infinite?) world where you have to mine for materials and then build houses and tools and fences etc. and that in itself is the kind of thing I enjoy, but the fact that it's all blocks just seems to make it more enjoyable to work with. Of course it's not just a place to build stuff, oh no; you have to survive! You have to eat to stay alive, try not to drown or fall off a cliff, and then at night time... monsters. I hate them all, yes, if your not careful this game can make you smash your computer out of rage. 

     Minecraft brings you the joy and satisfaction of building a life, it gives you the skill and cautiousness from being stalked by these creatures and the awe at the amazing landscapes, portals and detail. Also there is Creative Mode to let your imagination go wild and multiplayer so you can annoy your friends by destroying their house. In the end Minecrat is one of the best games out there in my opinion and I'm glad to have joined this Mining fandom!

6.5/10

OJ's Movie Review - Interstellar

It's not possible, but it's necessary.

  So, Interstellar; the latest film from the brilliant and awesome director Christopher Nolan. When this film was in production it was wrapped up in so much secrecy that hardly anyone knew what the plot was about and the cast was kept fairly under wraps too. Anyway what can I say about a three hour space epic from the same guy who made Inception? Let's start with the things that don't need mentioning because we know what it's like, the acting is perfect, Matthew McConaughey delivers some fantastic scenes of power and emotion which ultimately takes you all through the movie, you're there for him, you want him to succeed; his daughter as well gives out some pretty surprising scenes, the young actress they got was really good. So on an acting front the film was perfect.
      Now do I need to mention the CGI? Nolan tried to use as little as possible and use as much practical effects as he could which worked amazingly well but then when CGI hit your face, you didn't even notice, wow, the visuals of this film are nothing less than stunning, the planets, space, everything looks beautiful.
   The plot is really what drives a film too, Interstellar is a film which isn't for everyone but it is a unique experience for anyone who watches it. It has some obvious inspiration from 2001: A Space Odyssey but in a good way and it is not a prefect movie in whole. I do have to say it really picks up on the second act, the beginning I felt was quite slow and dragged on a bit and I was hoping it was going to get better, but as soon as they go into the second act it picks up, the story gives you a lot of food for thought, questions that are not very easy to answer and I was definitely thinking about it after the movie ended. Some parts shocked you, some parts will bring you to tears, it is an incredible journey of morals, exploration and desperation.
   The ending I think will split some people, you either love it or hate it; I look at it positively and loved how they depicted certain physical concepts from science. In the end my opinions on it will probably change with every new thought but I will definitely watch it again which says something.

8/10

OJ's TV Review - Doctor Who series 8

Attack eyebrows.

So here we are, the start of another 50 years. Last time we saw the Doctor he turned into an intense older man with a Scottish accent. Of course, it was Peter Capaldi; let's start off with the acting and actors then. Capaldi obviously is a brilliant actor, it took some time to get used to his personality but he came out with some cracking lines and I like his outfit. Jenna Coleman is also really great at acting, I still don't really like her character much but she did some powerful scenes which could easily win an award. We also got some new faces such as Samuel Anderson as Danny Pink which I liked and he was a good character, very realistic and fun to watch; Michelle Gomez played the wonderfully mysterious Missy who was fantastic in her character, a truly evil villain. So on an acting par, Series 8 was great (even the child actors actually).
    Let's get into the plots and episodes now.' Deep Breath' started us off and in my opinion, it wasn't great; I personally dislike the Paternoster Gang so that didn't help and most of it felt like the script was still being written for Matt Smith. After that however, it was one of the best series of Doctor Who since the revival, I really enjoyed the majority of the episodes, 'Robot of Sherwood' was funny, 'Listen' was scary, and 'Mummy on the Orient Express' was my favourite. So yeah, even the series arc that stretches over the episodes was good.
    Eventually we got to the finale and wow, it got dark quick, the subject matter even got a few complaints and was quite a sensitive subject; I thought the plot itself was good and I enjoyed it except some parts of 'Death in Heaven' which I'm not comfortable with. As a whole though the 34th series of Doctor Who was good beginning for a new chapter.

8/10